When a boat is temporarily secured in a stationary position whilst on a body of water, for example, when a user is fishing in a preferred location at sea, it is commonplace to use an anchor to secure the boat to a bed of the body of water, to prevent the boat from moving away from the preferred location. The anchor is usually attached to an anchor line, being a rope or chain, and the line is connected to a bow of the boat and lowered to ground level to anchor the boat in position. In this scenario, the anchored boat is inevitably reorientated by a prevalent current or wind such that the boat becomes positioned downstream of the anchor, having its bow, facing the anchor.
In some instances, a user will need to reorientate or move the anchored boat relative to the anchor in order to access an alternative location. For example, when a user is fishing at sea, a user may need to adjust the position of a boat to improve access to a particular location where fish have collected. When using a single anchor arrangement as described above, this can be difficult to maintain as this requires the user to operate the boat's motor. When the motor ceases to operate, the boat will return to its original position downstream of and facing the anchor.
To overcome this issue, it is known for boat user to use two anchors and respective anchor lines to anchor the vessel in position. In this arrangement, each anchor line is secured at an angle from the boat which allows the boat to be repositioned relative to the anchors by extending or retracting the anchor lines, pulling the boat in the direction of one or other of the anchors and reorientating the boat with respect to a particular location of interest.
Whilst the dual anchor arrangement can function satisfactorily there are a number of drawbacks with this approach. To install both anchors can take considerable time and effort, unnecessarily consuming engine fuel whilst adjusting the boats position to set both anchors. Furthermore, once set up, it is awkward to reposition the boat as the anchor lines must be adjusted in length simultaneously, which can prove very difficult for a single operator. Furthermore, the dual anchor lines can occupy a significant area around the boat, increasing the chance of fouling other passing boats. It is also a costly solution, requiring the purchase of an additional anchor and line.
Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a device that allows an anchored boat having a single anchor to be repositioned and/or reorientated relative to the anchor. Furthermore, it would be useful if such a device could be installed and operated by a single user quickly and with minimal effort. In general, it would be useful to provide a solution that avoids or ameliorates any of the disadvantages present in the prior art or which provides another alternative to the prior art approaches.